2023-12-10 02:55:37
They live without news of their loved ones, in the unbearable wait to know if they are still alive. Several hundred people gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening to call for the release of hostages still held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, an AFP journalist noted.
Around 240 people were kidnapped and taken to Gaza on October 7 during the unprecedented Hamas attack on Israeli soil which left 1,200 dead, mostly civilians, according to Israeli authorities.
At the end of November, 105 hostages, including 80 Israelis, were released as part of a seven-day truce agreement between Hamas and Israel, in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons. Hamas, however, has ruled out any release of further hostages until a permanent ceasefire is reached.
Saturday evening in Tel Aviv, anonymous people and families of hostages gathered in the “Hostage Square”, carrying signs bearing messages such as “They trust us to get them out of hell” or “Bring them back home now.”
“We want to push the government to conclude (another) agreement to release them,” Eli Eliezer, a relative of the hostages still held in Gaza, currently estimated at 137 by Israeli authorities, told participants. “It is the government’s job to ensure the security of its population and its land,” said this 61-year-old engineer.
Free them “whatever the cost”
In Tel Aviv, on stage, between prayers, songs and speeches, the father of a hostage criticized the government’s action. “Why aren’t they doing their job? We are asking the Israeli cabinet, the war cabinet, to explain exactly what is on the negotiating table,” said Ruby Chen, the father of 19-year-old Itay Chen.
“We demand to participate in the negotiation process. Get them out now, immediately, whatever the cost,” he demanded.
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In the compact crowd, Tzvia Bader assured that the release of the hostages was “not the absolute priority” of the government. The woman who runs a health start-up fears that the army sometimes put the hostages in danger during its offensive in Gaza. “We cannot leave anyone behind,” she argued.
Earlier Saturday, the Hostage Families Forum and Kibbutz Beeri announced the death of Sahar Baruch, 25, “murdered” by his captors. The day before, Hamas had reported his death during an attempt by the Israeli army to save him.
Israeli bombings launched in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the October 7 attack left 17,700 dead, more than two-thirds of them women and people under the age of 18, according to the latest report from the Ministry of Health. of Hamas. Figures that cannot be verified immediately.
Ex-hostages testify
In video testimony shown at the rally, freed hostage Margalit Moses, 77, said she was transported to a tunnel under Gaza, where one of her Hamas guards confiscated a machine that she used to help him breathe at night.
“I didn’t sleep for forty-nine days,” she said. “There were psychological difficulties, there were physical difficulties, and with each passing day it became more and more difficult. »
“Every day seemed like an eternity… Whether it was the hunger, the desire to be reunited with his family,” testified Itay Regev, 18, a former hostage.
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